Chapter 3

With Tom’s recorded confession and the physical evidence secured, I didn't rush my next move.

I spent two days in a hotel steeling my nerves and reigning in my emotions before dragging my suitcase back to the luxury penthouse I shared with Julian.

The heat was blasting in the living room. Julian was sitting on the expansive leather sofa, flipping through some documents.

Hearing the door open, he glanced up at me. There was absolutely no concern on his face; instead, his brows knitted together in a tight, annoyed frown.

"So you finally decided to show up?" Julian tossed the documents onto the coffee table, his tone dripping with obvious dissatisfaction and blame. "You disappeared for a whole week. If you didn't want to buy the pizza that day, fine, but sneaking all the way back to the city and screening my calls? Who exactly are you throwing this massive tantrum for?"

Looking at the man before me, I pushed down the swelling knot of complex emotions and calmly took off my coat. "I ran into a little accident. I rested in a town at the bottom of the mountain for a few days."

Just then, Mia strolled out of the kitchen carrying two delicate porcelain teacups.

I wasn't surprised by her presence. Ever since Julian and I moved in together, Mia practically lived here uninvited.

She handed a cup of black tea to Julian, then turned to me, putting on a sickeningly perfect act of the sweet, innocent sister. "Maya, you're finally back! Julian was so worried about you these past few days. He could barely eat."

But from an angle Julian couldn't see, she was staring dead at me, her eyes flashing with thinly veiled provocation.

She must have assumed the blizzard had botched the hitman's job, and that by some stroke of dumb luck, I had escaped—still the clueless, pathetic punching bag who deserved to be bullied.

Julian stood up, walking over to wrap an arm around my shoulder. "Alright, since you're back, let's just turn the page on this. Your birthday is coming up in a few days. I've arranged everything, and I've prepared a massive surprise for you. Just stay home and rest up until then."

That afternoon, Julian went into the study to take a cross-border conference call.

Passing by the half-open door, I accidentally caught a glimpse of his desk. Resting on it was an open navy-blue velvet box, and inside sat a dazzling diamond ring.

My heart skipped a beat. So this was his "massive surprise"—he was planning to propose to me at my birthday party.

Staring at that ring, a sliver of hesitation cracked through my frozen chest.

Julian and I had been together for a long time, after all, and our bond used to be deeply rooted.

Before Mia forcefully inserted herself into our lives, he had always treated me wonderfully.

Over the years, his boundless, boundary-less favoritism toward Mia stemmed entirely from that fabricated "life-saving debt."

If he knew the truth about the fire... If he knew Mia was actually a monster who had murdered her own mother, would he still protect her?

Maybe he was just a victim of her lies.

I debated whether I should lay all the cards on the table tonight. I could tell him the truth, kick this matricidal parasite out of our lives, and finally put things back on track.

That evening, holding a warm glass of milk, I made my way downstairs, fully intending to have a heart-to-heart with him.

But just as I reached the landing of the staircase, I stopped in my tracks.

Voices were drifting out from the half-open door of the den on the first floor.

Julian, Mia, and two of his close friends were drinking and scheming something inside.

"Julian, are you really sure you want to go this big for the birthday party in a few days?" one of his friends asked with a laugh. "That's an event where every elite in the city will be present."

"Of course." Julian sounded relaxed and brimming with confidence. "I've already double-checked all the AV equipment."

Mia chimed in with a clear, sharp giggle. "I absolutely cannot wait to see that giant screen at the banquet. You guys have no idea how much time it took me to splice all of her past embarrassing photos and videos together."

I leaned against the solid wood banister, listening in absolute silence.

"But honestly," the other friend said, a hint of hesitation in his voice, "right at the climax of the party, playing a montage of Maya's most humiliating moments—being pranked, getting rushed to the ER from that allergy attack, even crying and screaming in fear... Isn't that taking it a bit too far? In front of hundreds of people, won't she just have a total breakdown right there on the spot?"

"No, she won't. She doesn't have that kind of temper." The crisp clinking of ice against glass echoed as Julian swirled his whiskey. "Mia has been feeling really insecure about Maya lately. I'm just throwing in a little side entertainment before the main event, just so Mia can get a good laugh down in the audience and blow off some steam."

"Then how exactly do you plan to wrap it up?" the friend pressed. "Very few women could endure being publicly humiliated in front of hundreds of people."

"See, you guys just don't get it." Julian scoffed, his tone radiating the arrogant certainty of a supposed savior. "After the video finishes—right when the atmosphere is at its most awkward and she feels entirely helpless—I'll walk up on stage with the diamond ring and propose. Think about it. At a painfully humiliating moment like that, I suddenly swoop in like her savior and take her hand. All she'll feel is overwhelming gratitude. She'll think I'm the only person in the entire world willing to accept her. This way, Mia gets to vent her frustration, Maya gets the marriage she's been dreaming of, and everybody wins."

Listening to this utterly grotesque conversation, the blood in my veins turned to ice.

That ring didn't represent love or happiness. It was just a sick prop used to manipulate me.

I had foolishly believed he was a blinded victim of Mia's deceit, but deep in his bones, he was the exact same kind of cold-blooded predator.

They treated others like dignity-less toys, arrogantly playing god with people's lives.

The very last shred of lingering attachment and hope I had for this man disintegrated into dust.

I didn't push the door open, nor did I make a single sound. I simply turned around and padded silently back up to the second floor.

Walking straight to my desk, I opened my laptop and logged into my company's internal management portal.

A month ago, corporate headquarters had sent a transfer offer, promoting me to Regional Director in Paris, France.

At the time, unwilling to do a long-distance relationship with Julian, I had been hesitating, severely tempted to decline the rare opportunity.

But now, I clicked "Accept" without a second of hesitation.

Immediately after, I navigated to an airline's official website and booked a one-way first-class ticket to Paris.

The departure time was perfectly scheduled for the afternoon of my birthday banquet.

The e-ticket confirmation pinged into my inbox.

I closed the laptop, opened my closet, and quietly began packing. I folded my essential documents, my own jewelry, and a few sets of high-quality clothes into my suitcase. Throughout the entire process, I didn't touch a single thing Julian had ever bought me.

Since they had laid the groundwork for such a magnificent, star-studded stage, it was only right that before I left, I utilized that giant screen to give them a truly unforgettable gift in return.